Plain City Plant to Lay Off 220 Workers

The Columbus Dispatch ^ | 4/30/2004 | Mark Niquette

[chimera]

Plain City plant to lay off 220 workers

Competition from Chinese blamed for shutdown at Invensys

Friday, April 30, 2004
Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Invensys Climate Controls will close manufacturing operations at its Plain City plant by the fall, putting 220 people — including many older and longtime employees — out of work. The company said 125 salaried workers will remain at the 51-year old operation, which previously was owned by Siebe PLC and Ranco Inc.

Invensys, which took over the plant in 1999, said it can no longer match the prices of competitors in China for the valves it makes for commercial and residential heat pumps.

"We hung in there as long as we could, but if we did not make this decision, we would not be able to compete and would lose major business," said Gale Maxwell, director of manufacturing.

Many customers said they would buy from Asian competitors unless Invensys could match their lower prices, the company said. Those customers will now be supplied by the Invensys plant in China.

Layoffs of the 200 hourly and 20 salaried workers involved in manufacturing in Plain City will begin July 2 and be completed by Sept. 30, spokesman John Mallen said.

Employees losing their jobs earn about $15 an hour. The average hourly worker at the plant is 53 years old with 27 years of service, Mallen said.

"When you have something that’s been around that long, it’s kind of shock when it picks up and leaves," said Rick Shortell, president of the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

He said it’s too soon to assess the impact of the cuts on the Union County economy or what other job opportunities laid-off workers may have.

Union County had the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the state in March at 4.3 percent.

Invensys hourly workers will receive a severance of between four weeks and 12 weeks of pay, depending on length of service, plus health benefits for that period, Mallen said.

Affected salaried workers also will receive a severance package, he said.

The company said it also will petition the U.S. Department of Labor for job-training grants and other help under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program for workers who lose jobs because of trade issues.

The Invensys workers who will remain in Plain City are involved in engineering, lab work, finance, accounting, marketing, customer service, human resources and purchasing, Mallen said.

Ranco Inc., which was founded in 1913, opened the Plain City operation in 1953. Ranco became a subsidiary of British-based Siebe PLC in 1987, and Siebe and another company were merged into London-based Invensys in 1999. A Ranco plant in Delaware, Ohio, closed in 1988.

The Plain City plant, which employed 650 in 1997, had been losing workers in recent years as the result of automation that was introduced in 2000, Mallen said.

mniquette@dispatch.com

[chimera]

So, what do you think, folks? Are these just more "buggy whip" jobs going away, or is it useful, current-technology work being outsourced to cheaper labor? What should these people do, all go out and start their own businesses, in their mid-fifties in a rural area with little else in the way of employment? Or should they just blame themselves for not being educated enough, quit whining and suck it up, grab a mop and go to work at Mac's? (/sarcasm)

Political fallout? Well, John F'n Kerry was just through this area the other day, demonizing Bush over this very issue. My guess is that it's another couple of hundred votes for Kerry in a crucial battleground state. IOW, not good for the good guys.

[CSM]

What action should the president take? What role is he specifically playing in these situations? Should our government establish a "Council of Vocations" to ensure that we all have employment, with wages and benefits that meet our satisfaction, for the duration we demand, in the field we desire?

BTW, these $15 per hour jobs are actually costing $33 per hour. After all of the government mandated benefits and programs each employee costs 120% more than what they see as their "gross" wage!

[chimera]

I didn't say anything about government action. It seems on these threads that only "free trade" advocates bring up government action and suggest Soviet-style worker's councils. It makes me wonder sometimes if they're the ones who are obsessed with big government.

Kerry does a lot of Bush bashing on this issue but doesn't really propose any realistic solutions. But it gives him a bigger hammer with which to clobber Bush and the Republicans, and his message is getting traction in battleground regions of the country that have been hit by this kind of thing. Neither a President Bush nor a President Kerry will likely have any direct impact on resolving the dilemma, but chances are those in the electorate who have been affected this way or fear being so won't pay any mind of that. They'll probably vote to "throw the bums out" who are in office when this happened and vote for their opponent simply because he says he'll "doing something".

[chimera]

Whaddya think, guys? More "buggy whip" jobs that shouldn't matter anyway? How long before the "if they can't adapt, screw 'em" crowd chimes in? Retraining? Where does a fifty-something factory worker go in a rural area? I know, they should just "move where the jobs are" (i.e., Beijing).

[TXBSAFH]

Free trade and outsourcing is one issue that Kerry can beat bush up with. If used properly it can win the election for him.

[chimera]

Kerry is making a lot of hay with his "I'll do something" message (but he doesn't say what). You're right, it may be enough to win him the election if a few thousand votes go his way in key states because of it. Too many people write off the (perceived) small percentage of the electorate that is directly affected by outsourcing, but when you throw in those who perhaps while not directly affected by it (yet) still fear it, the number grows, perhaps significantly. That could make a difference in a close election, which I believe (and indications at this point show) this will be.

Bush sends people like John Snow and Gregory Mankiw out to push the "outsourcing is good" and "unemployment benefits the economy" claptrap at his peril. People aren't buying it, and the more desperately it is pushed the more people will be inclined to look elsewhere for leadership.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Our businesses close down and get outsourced, as waves of millions defecate on our laws and sovereignty, this invasion of millions has become a comical disgrace that now resembles the Boston Marathon, as our so-called leaders stand in stone silence along with the wealthy business owners demanding endless lines of uneducated applicants, willing to work for wages fit for 17-year olds for the jobs that are left.

[Joe Hadenuf]

How long before the "if they can't adapt, screw 'em" crowd chimes in? Retraining? Where does a fifty-something factory worker go in a rural area?

It seems to be the party hacks that show up on every thread regarding these brutal shuts downs and lose of our businesses.

The feds will step in with some idiotic retraining plan, and after a month or two, these folks will fade into the background like much of the middle class and go apply at the nearest Wal-Mart to sell Chinese goods.

[JonH]

Not more than 15 miles away from Plain City are two Honda facilities that speak to the flip side of outsourcing and were hiring skilled people a few weeks ago.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Horse crap. This sh*t is so wide spread, your two japanese honda plants won't quite cut it pal.

[chimera]

And those Honda facilities are there because of, (are you ready for this?), government action. Oh, the horror! Government policies affecting private business! How dare they! It was a simple case of telling the Japanese, no makie, no sellie. You know, so-called free traders come on these threads all the time and complain about government interference. Yet you bring up a case where, just perhaps, there might have been some positive benefit from being proactive on a trade issue, instead of "all hands off". Ironic, no?

[Joe Hadenuf]

Oh, the horror! Government policies affecting private business! How dare they!

When did you figure this out? Government policies at the borders have resulted in literally millions illegally entering our country and willing to work for wages fit for a 17 year olds.

Of course, party members in good standing, and the wealthy business owners that demand endless lines of job applicants that are willing to work for these substandard wages, and not complain, absolutely love this. They get wealthier, it's a win win for them.

Who gives a damn about the borders, our laws, and American workers when profits are at stake?

[chimera]

Rather than immigration policy, my thought was more that it was made clear to the Japanese manufacturers that it would be in their interest, in a business sense, that they assemble in this country a significant portion of their product lines offered for sale here, as opposed to just importing finished goods across the board. When the plans were announced to build an assembly plant, various states and locales competed to have those facilities built there, by offering various incentives. I was pointing out, in cases like there, that there can be a cooperative and beneficial relationship between governing authorities and private business, and that those who reflexively oppose such things may, in fact, be wrong.

[TXBSAFH]

Everyone I have talked to either has or knows someone who has been laid off in the past 3 years. It is on a lot of peoples radar.

[Fury]

Pinging Poohbah, because he has good points in this matters...

Two things jump out at me. First:

The average hourly worker at the plant is 53 years old with 27 years of service, Mallen said.

The "average" hourly worker? This could lead one to believe that there are many young folks working at this plant, if by average, the reporter is referring to "average" in the statistical context.

Second,

The Plain City plant, which employed 650 in 1997, had been losing workers in recent years as the result of automation that was introduced in 2000, Mallen said.

The plant has lost more workers due to automation than due to moving jobs off-shore, if this part of the article is indeed correct.

[chimera]

I know it. I can count at least a dozen or so that I know. Mostly high-tech types, but a few of the "working stiff" class (which is what I am anyway). And we're just a few people. I can't help but think it's a more widespread problem than many would like to believe. To make matters worse, this is impacting what has been up to this point primarily a Republican demographic. There was another story in the local papers over the weekend of a skilled, educated employee of a local research lab who was losing his job to outsourcing (research chemist, whose department is being replaced by a contractor in India). He was one of these "Reagan Democrats", basically conservative values who came over to the Republican voting side as a result of Reagan's appeal. He voted for Bush in 2000 but stated in no uncertain terms that he would "not make the same mistake twice". I think he's wrong, but it's a shame because Bush is going to need people like this to get re-elected.

[chimera]

The plant has lost more workers due to automation than due to moving jobs off-shore, if this part of the article is indeed correct.

That is true. But now even the remaining jobs, presumably those either "immune" from automation, or maybe even those that were created by the introduction of automation, are being lost to overseas labor. That seems to indicate that if it comes down to a contest between automation and cheap (some might say slave) labor, guess which one wins?

[TXBSAFH]

I have a neighbor who lost his job as an engineer. He was able to find a new position after 4 months but he took a 30% pay cut. He has been out of school for 6 years and took an entry level position. He is basically conservative but he was going to vote for Edwards in the primary. He told me that and thkis is a direct quote, "My family can't afford to vote republican anymore."

[FITZ]

After all of the government mandated benefits and programs each employee costs 120% more than what they see as their "gross" wage!

"Benefits" that don't benefit the employee but rather our very large greedy government. Whose going to pay all those FICA, Social Security and Medicare taxes now? The government needs to make it equal so that it gets the same proportion of it's revenues from jobs that are outside our country as what it takes from those which are inside. Why should a Chinese be taxed so much less? Make them pay for our government since it's benefitting only them.

[CSM]

Why not change the tax structure in our country? Why not advocate a reduction in government spending? Why not advocate privatization of SS?

Instead, you come on a conservative board and advocate further government growth. Would you also advocate China taxing American workers if they provide products or services to China?